On the off chance that you're not trolling: the term 'third world' was coined during the cold war to refer to the world outside the opposing poles that dominated global politics, trade, and society: the world that was neither the American-dominated world or Soviet-dominated world. Most of these third-world countries were poor and undeveloped, and that meaning has colored the term deeply beyond its original intent.

Still, who cares what it 'really means.' It's kind of a useless phrase other than as a mild pejorative. 'Developing' and 'undeveloped' are much more informative if talking about economies, and geopolitical alignment hasn't been binary since the Sino-Soviet split. The only people who use the phrase are those using it to denigrate a poor country (anyone trying to convey information would choose a more informative term) so that's more or less what it means now.

Deathfrogg:MindStalker: hasty ambush: neritz: I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

They have more in common with progressives "The [North] Korean people are friends to all progressive minded people in the world," and "the famine in the 1990s, which experts believe killed up to 2.4 million North Koreans, was one example of good governance on the peninsula"

Quality trolling there I see. Quoting the Red Youth as if they represent progressives is like quoting Aryan Nation as if they represent Conservatives.

Except that the American conservatives rely on and echo the words of the Aryan nations to garner votes, whereas the Liberal folks point at people like the so-called communist sympathizers in that article and just shake their heads.

Just when i thought no one is as retarded as Lil Kim, you prove me wrong with your amazing post

Yes, they are. They're part of the very definition of "second world" countries. Are you trying to claim they weren't communist allies of the Soviet Union during the Cold War?

They were, but they aren't. I'm with you insofar as you are undeniably correct on the gross inaccuracy of calling DPRK 'third-world.' But I don't think that 'second-world' is a remotely useful term nowadays. As you point out, the sole criterion for that classification is a political alignment that has not been in practical effect since Nixon went to China, and which has been purely historical for over two decades.

The three-worlds phrasing isn't relevant to the modern world. I'm fine with scorning the use of 'third world' to refer to the last Stalinist state in the world, but replacing it with 'second world' has very limited utility.

bigdanc:Satanic_Hamster: You realize that all the sanctions are in response to them deliberately violating arms controls agreements and making military strikes on South Korea, right? And that despite all the starvations, their incompetently run industries continue to drive the country to the ground and instead of investing more money into food and infrastructure they put the money into ICBMs and nukes, right?

They came off their nuke program in 07 or 08 as a result of diplomacy and they've just recently restarted their program cause they realized there was no steak to go with the sizzle we sold em.

I'm not sure if that had to do with the global economic down-turn, but whatever we conceded economically we never provided.

I've heard part of it is a power play by fatty cause his generals aren't minding their roles, but that's just speculation. In any event, A strong, industrialized N. Korea with unshakable economic ties to the US is in our best interest because that would reduce our reliance on China.

Additionally, we could exert a lot more control over their human rights policies which makes a relationship with them have the added benefit of being more ethical than China and US.

This is patently false. We refused to continue aid because they refused to substantiate their claims of having actually shut down their program. The steak was conditional. We began withholding it when they stopped documenting their 'disarmament,' and we cut it off entirely when they began testing ICBMs.

The second half of your statement is laughable. DPRK is decades from being a 'strong, industrialized' country no matter how much investment anyone dumps in it. Hell, its utter backwardness might be the biggest reason it still exists; neither ROK or PRC or USA want to be responsible for the millions of refugees or the economic black hole they'd be fleeing. And as for 'control?' The Chinese can't control them, and they're the closest thing to a friend DPRK has. Hell, the North Koreans renege on trade deals and nationalize entire Chinese-owned factories and mines all the time. But I'm sure they'd treat us better!

China is moving towards a post-manufacturing society. If you're worried about securing cheap manufacturing for the future, invest in Africa. The Chinese certainly are.

jakomo002:Satanic_Hamster: You know don't what the phrase "third world" means, do you.

LOL. Ask yourself that question, professor.

<i><b>What makes a nation third world? </b>

Despite everevolving definitions, the concept of the third world serves to identify countries that suffer from high infant mortality, low economic development, high levels of poverty, low utilization of natural resources, and heavy dependence on industrialized nations. These are the developing and technologically less advanced nations of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. Third world nations tend to have economies dependent on the developed countries and are generally characterized as poor with unstable governments and having high rates of population growth, illiteracy, and disease. A key factor is the lack of a middle class - with impoverished millions in a vast lower economic class and a very small elite upper class controlling the country's wealth and resources. Most third world nations also have a very large foreign debt. </i>

It's okay, I accept your apology. NK fits almost every single definition of a 3rd world country.

pkjun:On the off chance that you're not trolling: the term 'third world' was coined during the cold war to refer to the world outside the opposing poles that dominated global politics, trade, and society: the world that was neither the American-dominated world or Soviet-dominated world. Most of these third-world countries were poor and undeveloped, and that meaning has colored the term deeply beyond its original intent.

I really, really hope he's trolling. The alternative of someone this stupid is just depressing otherwise.

Hell, the very first google result of what he "dared" to be googled shows him to be wrong.

bigdanc:They came off their nuke program in 07 or 08 as a result of diplomacy and they've just recently restarted their program cause they realized there was no steak to go with the sizzle we sold em.

Are you claiming that the US, South Korea, or Japan failed to deliver something from our promises? North Korea agreed to stop developing nukes and to stop exporting missile tech in exchange for food and fuel aid. We gave them that. Every time they violated those agreements we retaliated with sanctions. North Korea's entire argument comes down to "give us free stuff or we'll murder people."

jakomo002:Satanic_Hamster: You know don't what the phrase "third world" means, do you.

LOL. Ask yourself that question, professor.

<i><b>What makes a nation third world? </b>

Despite everevolving definitions, the concept of the third world serves to identify countries that suffer from high infant mortality, low economic development, high levels of poverty, low utilization of natural resources, and heavy dependence on industrialized nations. These are the developing and technologically less advanced nations of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. Third world nations tend to have economies dependent on the developed countries and are generally characterized as poor with unstable governments and having high rates of population growth, illiteracy, and disease. A key factor is the lack of a middle class - with impoverished millions in a vast lower economic class and a very small elite upper class controlling the country's wealth and resources. Most third world nations also have a very large foreign debt. </i>

It's okay, I accept your apology. NK fits almost every single definition of a 3rd world country.

MindStalker:hasty ambush: neritz: I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

They have more in common with progressives "The [North] Korean people are friends to all progressive minded people in the world," and "the famine in the 1990s, which experts believe killed up to 2.4 million North Koreans, was one example of good governance on the peninsula"

Quality trolling there I see. Quoting the Red Youth as if they represent progressives is like quoting Aryan Nation as if they represent Conservatives.

Except that the American conservatives rely on and echo the words of the Aryan nations to garner votes, whereas the Liberal folks point at people like the so-called communist sympathizers in that article and just shake their heads.

bluefox3681:neritz: I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

Except it works. The gun control backround check bill is finished. They got 99% of the bush tax cuts preserved forever. After Obamacare turns out the be the "trainwreck" that even democrats are distancing themselves from; it will get even worse.

Republicans are winning.

It's the sort of thing that happens when you fight reality.

/note: not "when you fight Republicans," but "when you fight reality."//Obama proved Republicans can be defeated, and even had a filibuster proof majority in Congress and a Supreme Court appointment with mandate///but reality doesn't care what the courts say, how the people vote, or even whether you can prove it's a "racist misogynist religious ideological construct that needs to be legislated away and replaced with a new reality"

MindStalker:hasty ambush: neritz: I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

They have more in common with progressives "The [North] Korean people are friends to all progressive minded people in the world," and "the famine in the 1990s, which experts believe killed up to 2.4 million North Koreans, was one example of good governance on the peninsula"

Quality trolling there I see. Quoting the Red Youth as if they represent progressives is like quoting Aryan Nation as if they represent Conservatives.

The reality is that your all partisan hacks. North Korea doesn't have anything in common with either party.

neritz:I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

Except it works. The gun control backround check bill is finished. They got 99% of the bush tax cuts preserved forever. After Obamacare turns out the be the "trainwreck" that even democrats are distancing themselves from; it will get even worse.

hasty ambush:neritz: I see Best Korea has learned how to negotiate like Republicans.

They have more in common with progressives "The [North] Korean people are friends to all progressive minded people in the world," and "the famine in the 1990s, which experts believe killed up to 2.4 million North Koreans, was one example of good governance on the peninsula"

Quality trolling there I see. Quoting the Red Youth as if they represent progressives is like quoting Aryan Nation as if they represent Conservatives.

Should have thought about that before threatening to nuke the US bucko. I don't see there being a whole lot of political will behind extending them any kind of olive branch in teh form of reduced/removed sanctions.

They were warned ahead of their nuke test what the consequences would be, they did it anyways, now they can lay in the bed they made.

I feel sorry for the average N. Korean starving and living in fear, but that is 100% the fault of their leadership and their policies, and there is no good way to provide the aid directly to the people...I am genuinely curious about the scale and condition of their "work camps", if verifiable photos came out showing conditions similar to WWII Nazi concentration camps, would that justify intervention by the global community? I know nothing can be done without China and Russia signing off, but even they have to have their limits.

/Fark Fatty Kim, I hope he reads every insult on the internet and cries himself to sleep every night. He had the best chance in a generation to really steer N. Korea in a new direction and instead he acts like a petulant child.